right?”
He turned, grateful for the sunglasses shielding his eyes. “Something’s gone down back home.”
“Oh.” She bit her lower lip. “Do you have to go?”
Facing her disappointment only strengthened his resolve to stop being selfish. He had to think of her first. “Not yet.”
Her chin lifted. “I’d understand if you had to go. Riley would, too.”
“You shouldn’t have to understand.”
One of her brows arched. “Really? Says who?”
“Let’s not do this now.”
“Later, then. Right after this is over.”
It was already over. Not that it ever really had a chance to begin.
RACHEL picked up the last bit of torn wrapping paper that had blown beneath the patio table and straightened. Her house was almost back to normal . . . except for the brooding deputy attacking her gas grill with a steel brush.
Jack had grown strangely quiet since taking that phone call a couple hours before. He managed smiles for Riley, who’d loved every one of the too-many gifts Jack had given him. Gifts that were craft sets or science projects or models. Things that were taught or built. Rachel took note of the fact that a man who worked with death and destruction was fostering a love of discovery and creation in her son. But Jack was unable to muster even a ghost of a smile for her. Instead, when their gazes met, he looked . . . ravaged.
She shoved the trash in the garbage bag beside her and yanked on the handles to seal it. Then she approached Jack, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his lean waist. Even though he’d seen her coming, he tensed when her arms encircled him. She was grateful her mother-in-law and Stella had taken Riley to Target to spend his gift cards. It gave her the chance to get things straightened out with Jack.
She slid her hands beneath the hem of his shirt and caressed his washboard abs. “Stella tells me I need to keep you around and exploit your mad grilling skills.”
He set one hand over hers, stilling her movements. “Flipping burgers isn’t enough to fix my faults.”
“Oh my God, you have faults? What a relief! I was beginning to think you were perfect.”
Jack set the brush down and turned carefully to face her. “Rachel.”
She pushed up his sunglasses to reveal his eyes. They were completely shuttered. “What was the phone call about?”
“Nothing you should have to worry over.”
“Bullshit. Whatever was said to you has you pulling back. Since I’m the one you’re pulling back from, I deserve to know why.”
Exhaling harshly, he pulled off his sunglasses and hung them from the collar of his T-shirt. “One of the guys on the team had a scare today.”
Rachel listened to his voice as he told her what happened. It was tight and clipped, his jaw taut. Someone he cared about—one of the very few—was hurting now and that was hurting Jack.
“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” Her fingers stroked soothingly across his nape. “The good, the bad, and the ugly. It helps to get it out.”
“I don’t want you involved in stuff like this.”
“I’m already involved.”
“You don’t need this crap in your life,” he said harshly. “Riley doesn’t need it.”
“We need you,” she retorted, “and you and the job are a package deal.”
“You’ve got me.” His dark gaze was stormy. “I’ll always be here for you, just as I’ve always been. We just need to keep things simple.”
That was ridiculous. What they had was totally complicated. He was complicated, and he was used to keeping his circle of friends small and tight. Letting her in probably scared the shit out of him on a level he didn’t even recognize. Because then he could lose her, one way or the other.
He was going to figure out, real quick, that she had absolutely no intention of getting lost.
seven
“Simple, huh?” Rachel backed away from him and headed into the house. She needed a beer. Maybe two. “As simple as living in the same town?”
Jack followed her. “As simple as keeping things the way they have been until last night.”
She wondered if he heard how gruff he sounded, how defensive.
Reaching the fridge, she pulled out two beers and set one down in front of him. They faced each other across her kitchen counter with equally wary and examining glances.
“You don’t get to make that decision by yourself, Jack.” She twisted off the top of her beer and took a swig.
His gaze narrowed. He had his game face on, dangerous and inscrutable. “I’ll